Railway-track sander



A. H. GILMAN. RAILWAY TRACK SANDER.

(No Model.)

Patented Se t. 29, 1896.

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UNITED STATES ATENT GFFICE.

ALBERT I-I. GILMAN, OF SAOO, MAINE.

RAI LWAY-TRACK SAN DER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 568,530, datedSeptember 29, 1896.

Application filed. March 23, 1896.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT H. GILMAN, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Saco, in the county of York and State of Maine,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-TrackSanders; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in railway-track sanders and isdesigned to prevent the sand from clogging any of the operatingmechanism connected therewith.

In the drawings herewith accompanying and forming a part of thisapplication, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a car, sh owing mysander in position. Fig. 2 is avertical cross-section of the hopper andoperating mechanism, and Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line was of Fig.2.

Same letters refer to like parts.

In said drawings, A represents a hopper adapted to be fitted under thesand-box under the seat near the ends of the car. EX- tending throughsaid hopper and nearly to the height of the sand in the sand-box is ahollow cylindrical tube B. Adaptedto slide in said tube is a rod 0,provided with crosshead D on the top thereof. At the bottom of thehopper is placed a hollow tube or ventpipe F, which serves as aconductor of the sand from the hopper to the track in front of thewheels. Rigidly attached to said tube are two ears G. Pivoted in saidarms G is a bell-crank lever H, having attached to one end a spring E,which connects it with the cylinder B. Pivotally attached to the otherend of the bell-crank lever is the shaft 0 with the cross-head thereon.Removably attached to said cross-head and adapted to be raised andlowered by the movement of said crosshead is a plunger J, having a valveI on the lower end thereof and adapted to close the opening in thebottom of the hopper and to prevent the sand from flowing out when notrequired. I also provide the plunger near its bottom with arms oragitators K, which serve to loosen the sand when the rod is raised,thereby allowing the sand to flow freely out through the opening in thebottom of the Serial N... 584,466. (No model.)

hopper. Attached to one end L of the bellcrank lever is a shaft M,linked to another crank-lever N underneath the car, the-extreme end ofthe crank-lever being pivotally attached to a foot-lever O, which isoperated by the motorneer by pressure of the foot thereon. In order toprevent the sand from getting into the cylindrical tube B and to preventthe consequent clogging of the operating mechanism, I cover the saidcylinder with a cap R and hold the same in position by the nut Q.

The operation of my improved device is as follows: The sand-boxunderneath the seat of the car is filled with sand, and, being incommunication with the hopper, the sand from the box flows into thehopper, keeping the hopper full as long as any sand remains in the box.When the motorneer wishes to sand the tracks so as to increase thefriction of the wheels on the track, he presses upon the push-button O,which, through intermediate and connecting mechanism, raises the plungerand the valve and permits the sand to flow freely through the vent-pipeto the track below. The arms on the plunger serve as agitators to keepthe sand loose and prevent its being clogged.

By my arrangement there is no possibility of the operating partsbecoming clogged by the sand, inasmuch as the rod 0 operates in theclosed cylindrical tube B, thereby preventing also any waste of sand.

Having thus described my invention and its use, I claim 1. In arailway-track sander, in combination, a hopper to contain the sand, acylindrical tube connected to said hopper, a rod mounted in and workingin said tube and operating a plunger, the motion of the plungerregulating the emission of the sand from the hopper, substantially asand for the purposes set forth.

2. In a railway-track sander, in combination, a hopper having an openingin the bottom, a cylindrical tube secured thereto, a rod mounted in saidtube, a plunger concentric with said hopper, a cross-head connecting theends of said rod and. plunger, said plunger having a valve on its lowerend adapted to I close the opening in the bottom of the hopper and meansfor actuating said rod and plunger,

substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In a railway-trael-z sander, in co1nbi1iation, a hopper having anopening in the bottom, a cylindrical tube, a rod mounted in said tube, aplunger supported in said hopper and concentric therewith, said plungerbeing adapted to be operated by said rod, a valve on the lower extremityof said plunger and adapted to be held yieldingly to close the openingin the bottom of the hopper and to be raised therefrom by said rod, andmeans for actuating said rod, substantially as and for the purposes setforth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, I 5 in presence 01' twowitnesses, this 7th day of March, 1896.

ALBERT II. GILMAN.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM HENRY CLIFFORD, NATHAN CLIFFORD.

